Ubuntu Look

I love the Ubuntu Wiki, and I think the Official Ubuntu Documentation is great! These are two important reasons why Ubuntu has been such a successful Linux distribution.

But at the end of the day, I’m a terminal-and-manpage kind of a guy.

Earlier this year, I found myself on IRC answering basic questions from an Ubuntu user about some random utility, and I asked him if he had read the manpage yet. He responded that he had read whatever he could find on the web, but he didn’t really dabble on the command line in general.

Read more …

The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #107 for the week of August 31st - September 7th, 2008 is now available.

In this Issue:

* Intrepid Alpha 5 released
* KDE Community Stabilizes Desktop with KDE 4.1.1
* KDE 4.1.1 available for Kubuntu 8.04
* Wanted: Moderators for Ubuntu Brainstorm
* Ubuntu Developer Week Summary
* PackageKit: Call for testing
* Two Years Going Strong
* New MOTU
* Ubuntu Package Status Pages
* New proposed WikiGuide Page
* Call for feedback on new wiki theme
* Ubuntu Stats
* LoCo News
* In the Press & Blogosphere
* Ubuntu UK podcast #13
* Say Ubuntu!
* KDE Usability Project Video(Celeste Lyn Paul)
* Atlanta Linux Fest
* Upcoming Meetings & Events
* Updates & Security

If you have a story idea for the Weekly News, join the Ubuntu News Team mailing list and submit it. Ideas can also be added to the wiki!

The Ubuntu developers are moving very quickly to bring you the latest and greatest software the Open Source community has to offer. With “Intrepid Ibex” Alpha 5 come some new features as well as lots of bug fixes.

This is still an alpha release. Do not install it on production machines. The final stable version will be released on October 30th, 2008.
Upgrading from Ubuntu 8.04

To upgrade from Ubuntu 8.04, press Alt+F2 and type in “update-manager -d” (without the quotes) into the command box. Update Manager should open up and tell you: New distribution release ‘8.10′ is available. Click Upgrade and follow the on-screen instructions.
New Features in Intrepid

These features are showcased for your attention. Please test them and report any bugs you find on Launchpad: http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu .
GNOME 2.23.91

Ubuntu brings you the newest GNOME 2.23.91 desktop environment with tons of bug-fixes and new features, some of which include:

*

Nautilus file manager has tab support and Eject icons for removable drives in Places sidebar.
*

File Roller archive manager now supports ALZ, RZIP, CAB, TAR.7Z file types also.

X.Org server 7.4

X.Org 7.4, the latest stable version of X.Org, is available in Intrepid. This release brings much better support for hot-pluggable input devices such as tablets, keyboards, and mice. At the same time this will allow the great majority of users to run without a /etc/X11/xorg.conf file.
Linux kernel 2.6.27

The kernel team is evaluating use of Linux kernel 2.6.27 for Ubuntu 8.10, which is included in Intrepid Alpha 5 as part of this evaluation process. This is a significant release with better hardware and numerous bug-fixes which is believed will provide overall improvement for Ubuntu 8.10. Regressions in 2.6.27 should be reported to the Ubuntu kernel team via https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux.
Encrypted private directory

The ecryptfs-utils package was recently promoted to Ubuntu main, with support for an secret encrypted folder in your Home Folder.

You can help test this new feature, by going Applications → Accessories → Terminal and typing:

*

sudo aptitude install ecryptfs-utils
*

ecryptfs-setup-private

Guest session

The User Switcher panel applet (package fast-user-switch-applet) now provides an extra entry for starting a Guest session. This creates a temporary password-less user account with restricted privileges: the account cannot access any users’ home directories, nor permanently store data. This is sufficiently safe to lend your laptop to someone else for a quick email check, or to use it as a surf station for guests in your house.
Network Manager 0.7

Intrepid Ibex ships Network Manager 0.7, which comes with long-expected features, such as:

* system wide settings (i.e., no need to log in in order to get a connection)
* management of 3G connections (GSM/CDMA)
* management of multiple active devices at once
* management of PPP and PPPOE connections
* management of devices with static IP configurations
* route management for devices

More information can be found on the Network Manager wiki.
“Last successful boot” recovery entry

On each successful boot, Intrepid will retain a copy of your running kernel and make it available from the boot loader as a “Last successful boot” option. This makes it possible for old kernel packages to be safely auto-removed by the package manager, instead of being kept indefinitely.
DKMS

DKMS is included in Alpha 5, allowing kernel drivers to be automatically rebuilt when new kernels are released. This makes it possible for kernel package updates to be made available immediately without waiting for rebuilds of driver packages, and without third-party driver packages becoming out of date when installing these kernel updates.
Download Alpha 5

Get it while it’s hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

*

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/intrepid/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/intrepid/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu Education Edition)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/intrepid/alpha-5/ (Kubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/intrepid/alpha-5/ (Xubuntu)

Known Issues

As is to be expected at this stage of the release process, there are several known bugs that users are likely to run into with Intrepid Alpha 5. We have documented them here for your convenience along with any known workarounds, so that you don’t need to spend time reporting these bugs again:

*

When using manual partitioning and configuring crypt+LVM, the partitioning will fail in certain configurations. As a workaround, you can use the “Entire disk with encryption” install option. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/251640
*

The Intrepid 2.6.27-2 kernel fails to boot as a Guest under VirtualBox. This issue is expected to be resolved for Intrepid Alpha 6. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/246067
*

Resume from Suspend with the 2.6.27-1 and 2.6.27-2 kernel will cause the system to reboot/shutdown. This issue should be resolved with the 2.6.27-3 kernel which will be uploaded post Alpha5. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/262423
*

A list of known regressions regarding the 2.6.27 kernel has been assembled at https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bugs?field.tag=regression-2.6.27
*

On Ubuntu systems, the “Shutdown” button in the Quit… menu does not shut down the system, but instead logs the user out. Investigation of this issue is ongoing. For now, please shut down from the log-in menu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/250506
*

On Ubuntu systems, the default desktop theme is wrong. As a workaround, please select “Human-Murrine” (or another theme of your choice) in System → Preferences → Appearance. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/256972
*

The X.Org configuration file (/etc/X11/xorg.conf) still has InputDevice entries for the mouse and keyboard, but they are ignored now because input-hotplug is used. The keyboard settings come from /etc/default/console-setup, and to change them please use “sudo dpkg-reconfigure console-setup”. After that, HAL and X need to restart.
*

After upgrading to this version, some keys might misbehave in X. Please make sure you have set the keyboard model as Generic Evdev-managed keyboard in System → Preferences → Keyboard, in the tab Layouts. If some keys still have problems, please file a bug against xkeyboard-config, and provide the output of setxkbmap -print and xkbcomp :0 - both run in the Terminal.
*

Memtest86+, accessible via the boot menu, falsely reports some memory as failing the test. Investigation of this issue is ongoing. http://launchpad.net/bugs/246412

Reporting Bugs

It should come as no surprise that this alpha release of Intrepid Ibex contains other bugs. Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help fix bugs and improve future releases. Please report bugs through the Ubuntu bugtracker

If you want to help out with bugs, the Bug Squad is always looking for help.
Participate in Ubuntu

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at

*

http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate/

More Information

You can find out more about Ubuntu on the Ubuntu website and Ubuntu wiki.

To sign up for future Ubuntu development announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu’s development announcement list at:
http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-announce

Canonical is taking three small but significant steps to build a partner channel for Ubuntu Linux. The VAR Guy stumbled upon the strategy during a surprise visit to Canonical’s offices near Boston. Here’s the scoop.

During a visit to OnForce, which operates an online marketplace for solutions providers, The VAR Guy popped his head into the neighboring offices of Canonical. While there, he picked up some marketing materials from the Ubuntu Linux promoter.

The materials had three key messages, written for:

• Solutions providers (VARs, integrators, etc.)
• System builders (white box PC makers)
• Partners, customers and consumers seeking training

Read more at The VAR Guy

Sure, Windows is expected to run on 1 billion devices by 2010. But a loud minority is making its voice heard by moving to Ubuntu Linux. In fact, Canonical’s marketing materials state that Ubuntu now has more than 8 million users.

Alas, measuring Ubuntu’s active installed base can be tricky since a single copy o the operating system can be freely installed over and over again on multiple systems. And in mid-2007 during the Ubuntu Live conference, Ubuntu/Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth estimated the operating system’s installed base at 6 million to 12 million users.

Read more at The VAR Guy

The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #106 for the week of August 24th - August 30th, 2008 is now available.

In this Issue:

* Second Ubuntu Developers Week!
* Intrepid feature freeze - Alpha 5 freeze ahead
* Call for testing of 2.6.27 kernel(Intrepid)
* Xfce 4.6-beta now available for Intrepid users
* Asia Oceania board
* MOTU News
* Using identi.ca for Ubuntu information
* Ubuntu Stats
* Ubucon El Salvador
* This week in Launchpad’s web API
* In the Press & Blogosphere
* Full Circle Magazine #16
* Ubuntu Christian Edition 4.0
* Post your Xfce news on reddit
* Server team meeting
* Upcoming Meetings & Events
* Updates & Security

If you have a story idea for the Weekly News, join the Ubuntu News Team mailing list and submit it. Ideas can also be added to the wiki!

Ubuntu 8.10 is now feature-frozen; effort has moved away from adding new features to concentrate on fixing bugs. The final release is on track for October 30th.

A comprehensive and up-to-date list of the new features has been posted on the Ubuntu Forums.

Development of Ubuntu 8.10 started with the Linux 2.6.26 kernel, compared to version 2.6.24 in Ubuntu 8.04. Just recently, it was decided to use the 2.6.27 kernel instead. The main reason for the switch is to avoid having to update the older kernel with things already in 2.6.27.

Read more at Tombuntu

The second Ubuntu Developer Week will be held from Sep 1st to Sep 5th in #ubuntu-classroom on irc.freenode.net.

‘There are Wiki docs, MOTU Videos, MOTU Interviews and we’re seeing more and more contributors each day. This is all good and well, but there’s nothing like talking to real people, asking real questions in a real-time environment.

‘The Ubuntu Developer Week is designed to give you an overview of what’s going on in the Ubuntu Developer world. Speak to the developers, learn, ask questions and finally realise “It’s true, I *can* make a difference by helping out here.”

‘Let’s take a closer look at the sessions we have:

• Packaging 101 - MOTU Daniel Holbach will talk you through the bare-bone structure of an Ubuntu package and how to get there the easiest way.
• Upstream Bug Linkages - In his session Jorge Castro will demonstrate the importance of linking Upstream bugs, acting as a liaison with upstream projects and be an important tie between upstream projects and Ubuntu.
• Introduction to MOTU - Iulian Udrea has been very active in the MOTU team and will share his experiences with you and of course answer all your questions.
• Soyuz and all that Jazz - Celso Providelo is not only going to run one session, he’s going to run two. This is the second one and will get you up to scratch on Launchpad’s Distribution Management.
• Working with Ubuntu<->GNOME QA (tips&tricks) - Pedro Villavicencio is amazing. He’s from Chile, knows GNOME Bug numbers by heart and just generally a great guy. Obviously he’s in touch with the GNOME Bug Squad a lot, he will show you how to contribute to both Ubuntu, and GNOME at the same time.
• How do I fix an Ubuntu bug? - Daniel Holbach will take you on the journey from finding a bug to work on, the process of fixing it and getting it integrated into Ubuntu.
• Introduction to BZR - David Futcher has used bzr in his work on Ubuntu and will guide you on your way of learning one of the most important tools in today’s development ecosystem: distributed revision control.
• Kernel module packaging with DKMS - Mario Limonciello will talk you through state of the art kernel module packaging with DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support).
• Using the Launchpad Web Service API - Leonard Richardson and Barry Warsaw, two of the Launchpad hackers behind the Launchpad Web Service API will demonstrate a few examples and answer questions about the project that is hopefully going to put an end to all Launchpad screen-scraping.
• Launchpad Hacks - Brian Murray, Ubuntu’s bugmaster does bug triage, bug statistics and chearleading on #ubuntu-bugs at day and writes Greasemonkey scripts at night. He’s done a lot of useful little hacks that make Bug Triage quicker and more fun. He will show you how.
• bzr for packaging - After David Futcher’s session and if you’re into packaging, you should be ready to go for James Westby and the magic he will teach you. James is not only author of bzr-builddeb, but also heavily involved in DistributedDevelopment.
• How do I update a package properly - If that’s the question you’ve pondering yourself, MOTU and Mentoring Mastermind Cesare Tirabassi is your man. Updating, Building, Testing, Tips and Tricks all included in the session.
• Introduction to PPAs - Launchpad hacker Celso Providelo has put a lot of work into Soyuz and PPAs. He will explain how to make the best use of Personal Package Archives.
• Introduction to the Server Team - Mathias Gug of the Server Team is a brilliant guy - always around to help you get started in the Ubuntu’s server land, generally helpful and easy to work with. His session will show you where to get involved if you’re into Ubuntu and servers.
• Various ways to patch a package - Two great french contributors in the MOTU team, Christophe Sauthier and Didier Roche, are delivering this session: get ready to patch packages and make your changes fit neatly into existing packages.
• Automated Testing for the Desktop - Ara Pulido has been busy working on automated Desktop tests for Ubuntu and will show how to make best use of them, how to get started and what to bear in mind.
• A WebKit browser in PyKDE - You’re into KDE? Always wanted to start hacking? Jonathan Riddell is definitely your man: he’ll show you how much fun PyKDE is.
• Having fun with the Mozilla Team - Firefox, Extensions, Xulrunner, Thunderbird, etc is right up your alley? Alexander Sack and the Mozilla Team are the people you’re looking for.
• How to avoid making Archive Admins unhappy - Lots of changes Ubuntu Developers upload land directly in the archive admins for extra scrutiny checks. Steve Langasek gives the ultimate session to avoid common pitfalls and make archive admins enjoy their work with you.
• Ask Matt - Matt Zimmerman is not only amazing, he’s also technical leader of the Ubuntu project, CTO of Canonical, chair of the Technical Board and great at playing the guitar. We are happy to have him here to run a Q&A session with him.
• Unit testing Python code, with code coverage measurement - Debian and Ubuntu developer Lars Wirzenius is going to talk about code testing and code coverage measurement. If you want to learn how to write good code, make sure you don’t miss the session.
• Introduction to the Installer Team - Ever wondered how Ubuntu’s installer works? Did you ever think: “I’d really like to get involved there.”? This is your chance, meet Evan Dandrea.
• Introduciton to the Security Team - Kees Cook and Jamie Strandboge are amazing, they work day and night to keep your and your mom’s Ubuntu machine safe and secure. Want to get started in the Security world? Kees and Jamie will show you how.
• Kernel Discussion - We have Ben Collins here who will lead the Kernel discussion. Ever wanted to help out Ubuntu’s Kernel hackers? Ever wanted to know how you can get a foot into the door in the Kernel team? This is your chance.

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, is getting serious about the server. The company is working hard to partner with 3rd party server application providers, and to develop the required core OS services for Ubuntu to make it a highly successful business server platform. There are many factors that make Ubuntu a strong server platform, but the top 5 are:

Read more at Works With U

The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #105 for the week of August 17th - August 23rd, 2008 is now available.

In this Issue:

* Major update of Ubuntu Brainstorm: Call for testing
* Ubuntu Arabic Team
* New Xubuntu Developer: Michael Casadevall
* MOTU News
* Ubuntu Stats
* Software Freedom Day:Ubuntu Maryland
* Ubuntu New Jersey 2008 BBQ/LAN party
* Atlanta Linux Fest 2008
* Launchpad 2.1.8
* In the Press & Blogosphere
* Ubuntu Blogger Wanted
* Happy Birthday Linux
* Meeting Summaries
* Upcoming Meetings & Events
* Updates & Security
* And much, much more!

If you have a story idea for the Weekly News, join the Ubuntu News Team mailing list and submit it. Ideas can also be added to the wiki!